A suicide bomber targeting a foreign military convoy in Afghanistan killed 35 people in an attack near the Pakistan border on Monday, a provincial governor said.
The attack, a day after more than 100 people were killed in the deadliest suicide raid since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, comes as some Western politicians call for a stronger resolve to stop Afghanistan sliding back into anarchy.
”Thirty-five people have been killed and 27 wounded,” Kandahar’s governor Assadullah Kahlid told a news conference, adding that the bomber was in a car and had attacked a convoy of Canadian troops. Four Canadians were wounded, he said.
The attack happened on a road in the border town of Spin Boldak in Kandahar province, a stronghold for Taliban insurgents fighting the Afghan government and its Western backers.
Most of the dead were Afghan civilians, but another official from the area said two foreign soldiers also died.
Several fuel shops were on fire in Spin Boldak after the bombing, witnesses said.
Despite the presence of more than 50 000 foreign soldiers led by Nato and the United States military, as well as about 140 000 Afghan troops, Taliban militants have made a comeback in the past two years and more than 11 000 people have been killed in violence.
Sunday’s attack happened as a crowd of people were watching dog fights in Arghandab, on the western outskirts of Kandahar city. Dozens of victims were buried side-by-side in a mourning ceremony on Monday.
Provincial governor Khalid has accused the Taliban of the attack, but the insurgents denied responsibility.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she saw no need to change parliamentary mandates that set limits on the number of troops her government can send to Afghanistan despite mounting pressure from Nato allies.
”We are not changing the mandates as they are at the moment,” Merkel told reporters. ”I see no need for a change at the moment.”
Germany, which has roughly 3 300 troops in Afghanistan, is under pressure from allies, particularly the United States, to send additional soldiers and shift them from the north to the more-dangerous south to help battle Taliban insurgents.
The main mandate, due to expire in October, allows Germany to send a maximum of 3 500 soldiers to Afghanistan. German media have reported Merkel’s government seeks to increase the number of troops. – Reuters